Homemade Pop Tarts (3 ways)

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Homemade Pop Tarts are 1000% better than store-bought. A homemade version of the classic breakfast treat for when the kid in you cries out.  I’ll show you how to make homemade poptarts 3 ways! Frosted Strawberry Poptarts. Brown Sugar Cinnamon PopTarts. And S’mores Poptarts!

I have to admit I have had more than my fair share of those silvery packaged (ok, I have to admit DRY) crumbly pastry tarts in my day. I always went for the strawberry iced or the brown sugar cinnamon. In my college and barely post college days, I would scarf these down for breakfast, snack, dinner…ok even dinner. Sometimes I even went to great lengths and actually used a toaster oven to heat them up. Most times I didn’t. The toaster took too long. So did making pasta back then. Ha, how times have changed.

Since my boxed pop tart days, I have found great satisfaction in making everything from scratch. It seemed only natural that I would get around to making my own homemade version of the classic breakfast treat. And let me tell you, once you try the homemade version it will be hard to go back and tear open another silver package with your teeth ever again.

As per usual, I couldn’t decide WHICH kind of pop tart to make. Strawberry glazed? Brown Sugar Cinnamon? Or maybe it’s summer (or you’re longing for summer!) and want that S’mores without a campfire. So, I decided not to decide. Isn’t’ being indecisive the best? Ok only in the kitchen is that probably true. I’ve included instructions for all three pop tart versions! 

Ingredients for Homemade Pop Tarts

Listed below are the ingredients you need to make all the fun variations!

For The Pie Crust:

• Flour – All-purpose flour for this recipe. 
• Salt – A bit of salt will help balance the sweetness in the filling. 
• Butter – You’ll want it very cold to make the pie crust. 
• Water – You’ll want to use ice cold water for the pie dough. 

For The Frosted Strawberry PopTarts:

• Jam – One of the optional fillings. I went with the classic strawberry.Use whatever flavor you’d like!
• Powdered sugar – To make the glaze. Whisk or sift it before making the icing for a smooth texture. 
• Milk – For the glaze. Milk helps cut the strong powdered sugar taste, but it can be substituted with cream or water as well. 
• Vanilla – For the glaze. If you’re making the vanilla glaze, this will add the perfect flavor.

For The Brown Sugar Cinnamon PopTarts:

• Brown sugar: You will mix this with a little flour and cinnamon to make filling.
• Cinnamon – For the filling and you will also use a little cinnamon for the glaze as well. 
• Flour: Just a little to mix into the filling.
• Glaze: You will use the same ingredients as the vanilla for the Frosted Strawberry version, but add cinnamon.

For The S’mores PopTarts:

• Marshmallow fluff- For the S’mores poptarts. 
• Hershey’s chocolate bars – For the S’mores poptarts, but you could also use milk chocolate chips. 
• Heavy Cream – I used this for the chocolate glaze on the S’mores poptarts.
• Graham crackers – Just some crumbs to top the S’mores poptarts. 

How to Make Homemade Pop Tarts

Make the crust.

Process flour and salt together in food processor until combined, about 2 one-second pulses. Add butter and process until homogenous dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 10 seconds (dough will resemble cottage cheese curds with some very small pieces of butter remaining, but there should be no uncoated flour). Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl with rubber spatula. 

Shape the crust.

Remove one disk of dough from refrigerator and roll out on generously floured work surface to 13 by 9-inch rectangle about 1/8 inch thick. Trim dough so that all sides are even and straight. Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into 8 even small rectangles. Use a ruler if you wish. 

Add the filling.

For Frosted Strawberry poptarts place one tablespoon of jam in the center. 

For the brown sugar cinnamon filling, simply measure and place all the ingredients into a bowl and stir to combine. Then add a 1-2 Tablespoons to a center of rectangle.

For the S’mores Poptarts, spread about 1 Tablespoon of fluff  onto 1 rectangle and then top with Hershey squares. 

Top With Another Rectangle And Crimp. 

Place another square on top and use a fork to crimp the edges to prevent the filling from leaking out in the oven.

 

Poke Holes In The Top.

You want to make sure to poke holes in the top of each with the tines of a fork to allow steam to escape as they bake.

Chill. And Egg Wash.

After they are all prepared, place in the refrigerator on a parchment lined cookie sheet to firm up again for another 30 minutes. Then repeat with the remaining dough disk.

Bake.

When ready, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the prepared cookie sheet in the pre-heated oven. Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown. Place on a cooling rack before applying glaze.

Make icing.

Whichever filling you choose, a good glaze on top is also recommended. I chose a cinnamon glaze for the brown sugar cinnamon, a vanilla glaze for the raspberry jam, and a milk chocolate ganache for the S’mores.

For either glaze option, just combine all the ingredients and stir to combine. You may find you need to add either more powdered sugar or milk to achieve the desired consistency. Then simply spread the glaze on your cooled tarts. For the S’mores I do like to garnish with some graham cracker crumb to give it the authentic S’more taste.

Enjoy!

Tips on Making Homemade Pop Tarts

• Great pie crust is key! Use very cold butter, ice cold water, and don’t overwork the dough. 
• Leave A Border. You want to make sure to leave about 1/4-inch border from filling to edge of the pie crust. Otherwise it might leak out!
• Don’t Add Too Much Filling. I add about 1 to 2 Tablespoons MAX of filling. Too much and you risk it leaking out. 
• Seal the pop tarts really well. This dough is very tender and flaky. If you find your dough is tearing, just pop it back in the fridge for awhile. Seal it with the tines of a fork to get the best closure. 

Can I change the filling? 

This recipe is very versatile. You can change the flavor of jam depending on what you like, use nutella instead.  You can also be inspired by other flavor inspirations, such as PB&J, chocolate fudge, or pumpkin pie.

How do I store homemade pop tarts? 

Store pop tarts in an air-tight container at room temperature for 2-3 days. These are really best eaten fresh. If you can’t finish them within a few days, try freezing the leftover for a quick breakfast or snack in the future!

Can I freeze homemade pop tarts? 

Yes! Once fully cooled, store the pop tarts in an air-tight container or zipper bag and freeze for up to 4 months. Easily reheat them in the toaster straight from frozen. 

 

They say a sign of maturity is being able to delay pleasure for a greater result (or at least that’s what Google told me anyhow).  So clearly a sign of maturity is being able to put down that little cellophane package and bust out your rolling pin and whip up some homemade pop-tarts. So let’s recap.  Maturity = making homemade Pop-tarts.  Man if only my 23 year old self could see me now…

Other Childhood Favorites to Try

• White Chocolate Funfetti Cookies
• The Best Rice Krispie Treats
• Hostess Cupcakes
• Cotton Candy Cupcakes

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